Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Mystical Lanterns

I am so excited to at last be able to show you my new crochet design called Mystical Lanterns.

The shawl design uses 13 shades of Jamieson's Spindrift and features a tessellated crochet pattern inspired by another traditional Persian design.

I started designing this pattern in the early summer, possibly back in May, but my design process (which then leads to pattern writing, checking, layouts and printing) can take a long time so I have been trying really hard to keep it under my hat for at least 3 months.

The pattern for this design eventually turned out to be really simple, but getting the design to tesselate took me an age and I came up with loads of really complicated designs before settling on this simple design based on a Granny Hexagon.

Having designed the lantern shapes, my next design stage was deciding what yarn to use. I have always tried to use products made by British companies as much as possible, but, in the case of yarns, it is not always possible to source nice 'homegrown' yarns as the majority of the yarns sold by British companies originates abroad, even if it is processed in the UK.

Jamieson's of Shetland produce a wonderful range of yarn called Spindrift which I have always loved, and so, when looking at the shade choices for this project, I was immediately drawn to their beautiful palette of shades.

Spindrift is made from 100% Shetland Wool and it is spun & dyed on the islands. The yarn is hardwearing and incredibly warm and the more you wash and wear it, the more beautiful it becomes.

I chose 4 palettes for this project which I have named Aurora, Mistral, Monsoon & Storm.

Aurora is a purple and green palette inspired by my trips to Norway and of course the Northern Lights.

Mistral is a subtle palette with nutmeg and chartreuse shades inspired by the colours of the South of France.

The Monsoon palette was (of course) inspired by my recent trip to India. The bright orange, pink and red shades remind me in particular of the gorgeous saris being worn by the ladies in Delhi & Jaipur.

Finally, the Storm palette is inspired by Shetland - a place I am always dreaming of returning to.

The project is available in kit form, which includes 13 balls of Spindrift, the printed pattern and a sew in JANIE CROW label and we will donate £5 to the charity Knit For Peace for every kit sold. Our first batch of kits are now on pre order via the web site and we are aiming to send them out within the next 2 weeks. You can find more information on the web site here.

I am a major fan of this yarn, however I know that many people find wool a little scratchy or have a wool allergy so we will be releasing the design as a pattern only in the new year.

Oh, nearly forgot to say - there is a little bit of a surprise in this pattern, hence the word 'mystical' in the name of the design. I won't share the surprise here though as that would defeat the point of the mystery!

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About Me

I studied textile design at Winchester School Of Art in the UK where I specialized in knitting. Following graduation I worked as a freelance textile designer. I have worked as a Design Consultant for Rowan Yarns whilst also working with Debbie Bliss.
I tutor many knitting and crochet workshops across the UK offering hands on advice to knitters through teaching and demonstrations and I spend most of my time designing knit and crochet projects for the home interior.
I am the author of 5 books, the most recent being Homespun Vintage and Kaleidoscope.
I live in North London with my husband, two teenage children and my Staffordshire Terrier - Scramble. In my spare time I enjoy cookery, gardening and painting.